Croatia came from behind to book their place in the World Cup final for the first time in their history, with an extra-time winner from Mario Mandzukic completing the turnaround.

There were suggestions before kickoff that Croatia were among the easiest teams England could have hoped to face at such a late stage of the competition, and Dalic admitted that comments in the English press gave his side extra motivation.

"There is always some extra motivation and we always respect our opponents," he told reporters.

"Maybe the English team should have respected us more, especially when you consider where our players play their football, but this is football and sport.

"Maybe there was an element of extra motivation because of [comments in the English media], but there was also motivation to play in the final and make our fans and the country happy."